The story: Iran, holding the world’s second-largest natural gas reserves, may in only 4 years become a net gas importer, a senior Iranian official has warned. The new chief executive of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), Mohsen Khojastehmehr, has also pointed to that the country needs tens of billions of dollars to develop its oil fields. But as US sanctions remain in place and the future of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal is still in doubt, Tehran is finding it difficult to fund essential energy projects.

The coverage: The South Pars reservoir is a massive gas field in the Persian Gulf...